Into the Dorm Room
by James Rylee 18
Summary: Series of one-shots: College student Sarah wakes up with a surprise in her bed one Friday morning...
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello, Sarah.**_

The stinking words were plastered across the projector screen when she crept quietly (and late) into her twelve o'clock literature class. The lecture hall was small, but filled almost to the maximum capacity with students and her teacher Professor Martin. Said teacher was standing just beside the door, but partially concealed by the garbage can. Some college professors do not have the time to make embarrassing slideshows with greetings for their late students; many would think that was a thankless task. But no, not Professor Martin. No, he was already laughing when Sarah tip-toed in, coffee in a ceramic mug evidence of her late morning.

Ordinarily Sarah would laugh this off, but today was different. She was not having anything from anyone. When she had woken up in the morning it was with a naked male in her bed, one she did not remember inviting there. Her first response was, of course, to scream, thereby waking her bed-mate and her roommate in the bed above her. Winnie had jumped out of her bunk faster than a solider and Sarah tore free of her sheets so fast she ripped them.

"What's going on!?" Winnie, full name Winnifred Jones, was wearing her boyfriend's t-shirt and almost nothing else. She had two fists up and was waving them everywhere about her face, her eyes covered by waves of tangled, honey-colored hair. Sarah had landed on her butt when she sprang out of bed, dressed similarly to Winnie, in a t-shirt and underwear.

The Goblin King in Sarah's bed however seemed quite naked. But the girls would not have this confirmed for them until he rolled over in waking up and mooned them.

"What the hell!?" Sarah stood up, almost ripping out hair from her head when she pulled it out of her face.

"Who are you!" Winnie screamed.

The king, looking quite bitter about being woken up, frowned at them. He pulled himself up, careful to keep Sarah's torn sheets over his precious crystals, and smiled at them.

"Good morning." He said.

"Sarah!" Winnie hollered at her. "Sarah! Sarah!"

But Sarah could do nothing but stare. Her mind was in some strange metamorphosis of epiphany: she had not figured out how or why the king was in her bed, but she knew one thing, he was in deep goblin crap with her now.

"Sar-uh!" Winnie poked her stomach, still wild with confusion.

"Sorry, oh crap," Sarah blushed. "I'm sorry, Win. This is… Jar..eth." She looked at the king as her voice tumbled away from her.

"Pleased to meet you." The naked king said.

Winnie stared.

"Can I ask you for a minute alone with Jar.. Jareth, Win?" Sarah asked awkwardly.

Her roommate stopped staring and nodded at her. She fumbled for the door and nearly forgot to throw on a pair of pants, thankfully on the floor, before stumbling away.

Once alone Sarah collapsed to the floor again.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She barked.

"You wished me here, darling." He lay back down, looking quite at home next to her stuffed bear.

"No way in hell would I do that!" She charged back. Repulsed with the audacity of him she flushed in rage and turned her face away violently.

"Of course you did, or else I would not be here." He cradled his head with his hands and leaned back.

"Are you wearing glitter in your armpit?" She felt like sniggering at him, the hair under his arm was shimmering, covered in frothy sparkles.

"I am the Goblin King, glitter accumulates."

"Can you leave?" She asked.

"You wished me here!" He laughed. "I expected you to have something for me to do."

"You were awake when you came here…"

"Yes, and arrived quite ready to grant you a wish." He said, sounding grumpy. "But when I saw you were asleep I decided to wait for you."

"In my bed!"

"You looked cozy." He smiled warmly.

Sarah was ready to smack him, but she realized, with a jolt, that the sun was shining too brightly in her western facing window. It was close to noon.

"Damnit! I have class!" She jumped to her feet and began bustling. She tore pants up from the laundry pile, a new shirt from her closet and put her hair up in a ponytail. All this the king watched, pupils dilating in delight.

She spun around violently while her coffee brewed loudly and pointed a finger at him. "You wait here until I get out of class!"

He put his hands up in surrender.

"And put some clothes on." She grumbled, spilling coffee in her mug and snatching up her bag. She dashed away and ran off to class, grumbling the entire way. She thought that going to class might resolve some of the tension she was feeling after her horrible morning. After the embarrassment of having her name across the board though, she was no longer certain that the day could get any better.

Thank god that it was Friday, and her only class was this: literature of the 18th century. Once she had had her fill of this and it was finally one fifty she left with a dread in her heart for what waited for her at her dorm. Breathing slowly she unlocked the door to her small room and was about to holler at Jareth to leave when she came upon a bizarre scene.

Winnie, sitting on her chair pulled up to the edge of Sarah's bed where she was casually conversing with the Goblin King… Who was still naked as a newborn goblin and sprawled comfortably over her bed pillows. Sitting on his stomach was Sarah's own green bowl, filled with brightly colored cereal and milk. Her spoon was being twirled delicately between his tan fingers.

"Sarah!" Winnie smiled wide and waved eagerly at her friend.

Sarah's own hand came up slowly and the fingers wiggled in a confused response. Her roommate turned back to Jareth and smiled.

As Sarah dropped her bag and sagged into her own chair, sighing deeply. She should have remembered her roommate, the ever bubbly extrovert, who could befriend a doormat if she wanted. In her haste to get to class she had forgotten to warn Winnie off, so the girl had wandered back to their room.

"I made your boyfriend some cereal!" She giggled. "Why didn't you tell me you were dating someone!?"

"Because I'm not." Sarah rubbed her face with her hands, thankful she hadn't put on any makeup that morning.

"I would like to say we are informally engaged." Jareth corrected and took a loud bite of his breakfast.

"That makes sense." Winnie said. "She never directly said no."

Sarah's eyes widened in disbelief. She felt her body stiffen in some horrible mixture of horror and anger.

"What are you talking about?"

"I cannot believe, precious, how secretive you are about your life," Jareth said. "Luckily, Winnie quite understands circumstances of this nature."

"What?"

Winnie interrupted. "Like, the Underground and stuff. Jerry here told me all about how you wished your brother away and everything and it makes sense and all. I still can't believe that you didn't accept his offer straight out!" The blonde girl smiled widely.

Sarah took a solid five minutes to register everything that had been said. And by the time she had figured out what had been said, realized that Winnie was now privy to her deepest secret and figured out why Jareth was really here, the only word that could come out of her mouth was:

"Jerry."

Jareth smiled that crooked grin at her, baring his wicked teeth and scooping up another spoonful of cereal. Winnie smiled encouragingly at her.

"Well?"

"Well… what?" Sarah moaned a little.

Winnie whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. "Isn't he the mysterious man you said you loved when you were fourteen?"

Sarah felt her cheeks turn red and her eyes glaze over a little in anger and embarrassment.

"Loved?" Jareth smiled even wider and set the now empty cereal bowl on the floor with a gentle lean.

"Winnifred Hayley Jones." Sarah's voice was low and her heart was beating wildly in her ears.

"Yes?" For the first time that day Winnie paled a little in fear.

"You better start running."

It was five o'clock that evening when Jareth was finally clothed, Winnie was finally quiet and Sarah was finally out of her murderous mood. The trio was all assembled in the girl's dorm room, each in different corners, and was quietly arguing.

Winnie was trying to convince Sarah to go out with Jareth for dinner, to which Jareth was arguing in agreement, while poor Sarah, outnumbered, was trying to persuade Jareth back to the Underground.

"I swear I did not wish you here!"

"You did, or else I would not be here."

"You should go to Palmers for dinner! I have a coupon!"

And so on, until Sarah found herself sitting at her desk while Winnie braided her hair in preparation for the dinner date at Palmers Bar and Grill. The green eyed girl slumped in her chair and stared bleakly at her hands in her lap.

"Please try to have fun," Her roommate said. "He seems nice."

"He stole my brother and made me solve a giant maze to find him!"

"He grants you your wishes."

"He is old."

"He is immortal."

"He is a fairy king who rules over a kingdom of Fae freaks!"

"He has a nice ass."

"He plays with crystal balls."

"Okay, come on Sarah!" Winnie tied off the end of the braid. "He showed up in the middle of the night when you called his name."

"You heard me?" Sarah turned pink.

"I hear you every night…" Winnie turned her face away. "I know you aren't really happy."

Sarah winced.

"Sarah," Winnie sighed. "I've known you since we were a pair of grubby freshmen just learning how to drink coffee. And I have known the whole time that you wanted something better than this liberal arts school from hell."

Sarah laughed in spite of herself. The two girls shared smiles.

"Now," Winnie took her shoulders in her hands. "You will go out with this man; you will forget your bumpy past with him and admit to yourself that you have a thing for him. I have never seen anyone who looks at you like that. Now, do you need protection?"

"Winnie, shut up." Sarah hugged her roommate and rolled her eyes. She was sad to realize how well Winnie knew her, and embarrassed that she had been heard crying in the night. She peered at her quietly, wondering now for the first time how perceptive this girl with the shiny, gold hair was.

And as annoying as Winnie was, Sarah knew she was right. Goblin King or not, Sarah was not happy here. A tap at the door sent a chill up her spine, the physical confirmation of her thrill. Smoothing her pale yellow dress one last time, she adjusted the bright smile on her face into a dreadful frown.

She opened the door and gave Jareth a stern look.

"I'm not making any promises," She said. "I make no guarantee that I will go home with you tonight or Underground or whatever. I am not calling you Jerry, and no one else is ever going to again. Now, you better have some mortal cash on you, because I am not paying for food."

Jareth held his arm out for her to take. "Of course, precious."

He smiled at her in his kingly way and the two took their first steps together into the bright evening.

* * *

**Let me know what you think! This was a fun little story that I day dreamed up one day when I was late for class. This is currently intended to just be a one-shot, but... I make no promises ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

"I think I hate you."

Sarah was holding up a silky-something by thin black straps, staring through its gauzy fabric into the bright eyes of her roommate, Winnie. Her cheeks were bright red, and a smile was trying to force its way onto her face. Sarah could feel her eyes beginning to ache and she stuffed the Christmas present back down into its box. Her roommate grinned manically, but didn't make the poor girl take the gift out again.

"I thought you could use it, you know." The honey-haired hell-bringer smiled widely and leaned back against the pillows of Sarah's bed. Sarah tossed the box of lingerie to the floor, drawing her knees in close to her body.

"Thanks." She grumbled grimly. She longed for the kind of _normal_ gift she had given Winnie, a specialized mug covered in beautiful designs Sarah had painted herself.

"I quite like it."

Sarah cussed loudly and nearly fell off the bed.

Jareth was lounging perfectly on her desk chair, the silky-something hanging from his gloved fingertips. He raised an eager brow at the girl and said, "Why don't you try it on?"

"That's my cue to leave," Winnie hopped off the bed to dart for the door, giggling.

Since Jareth's first appearance last year, there had been a number of positive changes in the college girls' lives. Among these, which included major-specific courses, and a severe cafeteria improvement, as upperclassmen they were awarded a double suite for living space, which gave them each a bedroom, one shared bathroom, and one terrible excuse for a kitchenette, with a sink that clogged. This, however, awarded Sarah the much appreciated privacy she longed for, but this, of course, backfired. Having a room of her own meant that a certain Goblin King made ever-frequent appearances, in varying stages of dress and at all hours of the day. He had interrupted late night study sessions or early morning workouts on her hard wood floor. She would never forget rising from a painful push up to a set of leather clad knees.

Just last week, she had woken in the dark of morning to find Jareth curled up beside her in her tiny twin bed. As per some cosmic joke, he was totally nude. At least, at this moment, he was fully dressed in black jeans and a very human looking plaid shirt. She had noticed in the past year or so, that his apparel had eased; he had somehow managed to normalize a little when he was in her dorm room. Leather was replaced with dark denim, elaborate coats with less elaborate, but equally fine looking, shirts and jackets. A little bit like a rock-star, a little bit like a Fae king. When around mortals, his brows seemed to normalize as well, still slightly arched in that wicked way, but far less strange.

The most odd of differences in Jareth when he visited her was his hair. No longer was it a strange mullet-mop on the top of his head, but instead a trimmed and combed back cut. The roots were darker than she could remember, but the tip still seemed to sparkle, like the tiniest of glitter flakes were still interwoven in his locks.

He leaned back in her old desk chair, a wooden monstrosity with no back support. The discomfort showed on his face, but he smiled around it at her.

"So, do I get to see how this looks on you?"

"Why are you here?"

"I can't visit my fiancée?"

Sarah knew better than to argue that particular comment, but fire still rose to her cheeks. She turned to lay down flat against her bed, stretching her legs.

"If you wanted to go on a date today, I am too tired." She closed her eyes to make a point.

She heard him rise form the chair with a terrible screech and stand beside her bed.

"I simply wanted to visit you."

"No tricks?" She let one eye open.

"No tricks."

"No schemes?" The other eye opened.

"No schemes."

"No kidnapping me to your Labyrinth and forcing me to be your queen?"

"I promised to wait for you to graduate." He looked incredulous.

"Fine."

Scooting over on the bed, Sarah allowed the king to join her. The bed was not built well for two, but they made do, laying on their backs and looking up at Sarah's blank ceiling. Their hips and shoulders pressed hard against each other's, and this was comfortable for both of them.

Jareth was not one for silence, and it was not long before he was humming gently. He took one of Sarah's hands in his own and began to fiddle gently with it, amused by her. She was not certain what was so interesting about her to him; the mortal-ness of her, maybe, was what was key to his wonder. Sometimes, when he thought she was not looking, she would spy him staring at her. The expression on his face was always so peculiar: his eyelids would grow heavy, leaving his pupils in dark shadows; his mouth would part so his fang-like teeth would glint; his face would soften, as though it was a painting that was smudged. This water-color Jareth was not just a conundrum because it was uncharacteristic, and that was strange enough, but it was peculiar because Sarah was finding herself softening to it.

The look in his eyes was tempting. She could feel herself longing to be nearer to him when he made that face, she wanted to touch him.

Since their date last year they had certainly gotten closer. Sarah had felt the transformation inside, the release of tension that had eased her around him. Jareth was comfortable to be with. It was less thrilling; she no longer felt the violent warmth inside of her body when he appeared. In its place there was a violent joy, a gentle confirmation of the development of her heart.

"It's stupid." She had told Winnie one day over cold soup.

"No its not." Winnie smiled. "You are in love."

Sarah gagged on the soup and turned pink.

"You totally are!"

"I don't think that's it. Love is supposed to be…"

When Sarah couldn't think of proper adjectives, Winnie filled in for her. "Love is being comfortable with someone, enjoying having them around. You know, like old people stuff."

"Excuse me?" _Old people stuff?_  
"Well, like, when you're young you want everything to be fun and wild and new. But with Jareth, you are like a married couple already. You don't need that fun garbage. Always in sync."

"Nothing wild about dating a Goblin King."

"The sarcasm is strong with you."

Regardless of how strange it felt, Sarah knew Winnie was right. This did not mean that she would, by any means, admit that to Jareth. The mockery would be endless.

"Think about it, Sarah. You have basically landed the best fish in the pond and you are still getting a college degree. You're gonna be Queen of the Goblins! What queen needs a B.A.?"

"I want options."

"No, you want equality."

Side by side in her bed, Sarah did feel equal to him. But it was only an achievable feeling when they were horizontal and staring up into nothingness. Even in his sleep Jareth was a mite bit possessive, clinging to her longingly, his face nuzzled in her collarbone.

His humming stopped and she turned to look at him.

"Can we talk?" He said.

"Certainly." She rolled onto her side. He stayed on his back, but never let his gaze falter.

"You have one year and a half left." He said. The tone in his voice was so serious that she thought he was joking and laughed.

"Oh." She stopped when his expression looked strained.

"As I said, one year and a half left before I am going to formally request something of you, Sarah." He stopped to breathe deeply, and then continued. "However, I do not want to make you feel in any way obligated to accept me. Seeing as you are determined to maintain mortal standings with your education, I would like to test the waters on another offer."

"What?" She was seriously beginning to worry. No other options seemed plausible.

"I have a younger brother."

"News to me." She grumbled.

"Yes, well, he is quite a number of years my junior, but has just reached adulthood. My dear, I may offer him my domain in the Underground, as well as my inheritance as the next High King if you ask of me to." He paused to let this soak in. "I can adopt the identity of a mortal, extinguish my immortality and subsequently, we can be an ordinary couple in this world. Your world."

She blinked.

He blinked back and sighed. "I will not ask for your answer as of yet. But please think about this, and I will accept any request you make of me. I thought that asking you to change worlds so young was a mighty request of me. I was selfish, years ago, and now I wish to pay back my harm in allowing you the choice. If even you choose not to be with me."

He surprised her by kissing her forehead and vanishing away before she could say a word.

Alone in her bed, feeling ready to cry, Sarah only yelled out one word:

"Hoggle!"

Wrapped up in Sarah's giant comforter, two girls and a dwarf sat crouched around one tiny television set with a bubbling screen. Each held in their hands a mug filled with hot chocolate and marshmallows. Across the room a giant, red-furred creature and a tiny fox were fighting over the bag of marshmallows themselves, and the giant was definitely winning.

On the TV screen a cartoon played loudly, Nickelodeon's bright orange logos bursting to life every few minutes for commercials.

"So," Hoggle said softly.

"So, indeed." Sarah sipped her drink.

"He's being generous." Winnie said. Both Sarah and Hoggle shivered at the word, and then shared a smiling eye with each other. The other girl looked on at the light of the TV, allowing the old friends their moment.

"The real question is what do you want?" Winnie said.

Hoggle, sitting between them, scratched his head. "Who do you want to be?"

"God, I'm only twenty!" Sarah exclaimed and disentangled herself from the blanket they shared. Ludo and Dydimus had stilled and were sharing the puffy candy together, but they looked up when she stood. "I'm not supposed to really know yet."

"But, Sarah, you've always loved him. So that at least is somewhat decided."

"Somewhat." Hoggle echoed.

"But, how can you expect so much from me? I want to do something with my life… I don't want to lay around on my butt doing nothing for forever." She put down her mug on her desk and slouched against the blank space of wall.

"You can do anything with your life!" Winnie suddenly yelled, sending Dydimus up Ludo's arm. Hoggle jumped and spilled on Sarah's rug. Then the whole room stilled because Winnie was bright red with frustration and staring angrily at Sarah.

"What…"

"Sarah, as shitty as this sounds, you have more opportunities to do anything in your life than I can, and it makes me so angry sometimes that you refuse to see it. You just want to make yourself miserable!"

"That's not true!"

"Sure, it is. You love Jareth. He can make literally anything happen. And you are sitting around on your butt making a fuss about deciding what to do with your life."

She got up and left her mug on the floor, her hair looking a little more frizzy than normal. "I would do anything just to have someone to love and love me back. You get that, _and_ he's a fricking king with super powers!" She threw her arms up in the air and marched away to her own bedroom.

Sarah slid down the wall and landed on the floor with a gentle thump. "Damn."


End file.
